Chapter 24
A Loving Couple
“It’s time to eat.” Auntie Wang’s solid voice rang from outside the main room.
Su Ying raised her head and saw the auntie smiling as she walked in with two large bowls.
“Please wait a moment. There are two more dishes. We’ll be able to eat in a minute.”
“I’ll go help Auntie.” Su Ying stood up and said.
“Hey, no need, no need. I will finish soon.”
Auntie Wang was deft. Very quickly, she brought out another three large bowls.
Zhang Shan and the others also came in with cutleries.
“We don’t have many delicacies in the countryside. You guys can just make do with these.”
Auntie Wang made five dishes. There was a fish dish, two vegetable dishes, fried eggs with carrots, and a plate of fried peanuts. Su Ying didn’t have any concept of the quality of this meal. She only felt it was a luxury to have a few dishes at once!
There was also coarse grain. Su Ying took the bowl and started gobbling it down with no pleasantries.
Auntie Wang and the others looked at her and thought they had been famished in the mountains. Otherwise, how could a good girl finish a bowl of rice in just a few mouthfuls?
“Young lady, don’t just eat the grains. Have some of these dishes too. This fish is delicious. Try it.”
“Oh, thank you.” Su Ying picked up a piece of fish with her chopsticks and stuffed it into her mouth. However, the next second, the fishbone stuck in her throat.
“This fish… Oh, bones.”
Seeing this, Xiao Jin could only pull a chair over and sit beside her. He pinched her mouth and made her open it.
Su Ying was so upset that she wanted to push him away.
“Don’t move. I’ll help you get it out.”
Su Ying stopped struggling when she heard that. Xiao Jin put a pair of chopsticks into Su Ying’s mouth, and when the chopsticks came out again, there was a fish bone between them.
“Done.”
Su Ying swallowed, and her throat felt better.
Auntie Wang pushed the egg dish toward Su Ying apologetically. “There are too many bones in this fish. Young lady, why don’t you eat some egg?”
Even Su Ying, who was thick-skinned enough, felt embarrassed. Could she say that this was the first time she had eaten fish?
Various sources had contaminated water in the post-apocalypse world. Even if there were fish in the water, they could no longer be consumed. Her understanding of the past world was almost all from reading and tellings of her comrades. She did not expect that fish would be so challenging to eat.
“I’ll be careful next time.”
Xiao Jin glanced at her and picked up a piece of fish with his chopsticks.
Although Su Ying was a little embarrassed, she still ate three bowls of rice in a row. Even Zhang Shan and the other hunters could not compare to her appetite.
Just as Su Ying was about to put down her chopsticks, a bowl of white fish meat was pushed in front of her. “Eat.”
Su Ying found the fish delicious, but she was still a little traumatized by the bones. “I’m full.”
Xiao Yan held his bowl and said without lifting his eyelids, “The bones are all out.”
Su Ying looked at him in surprise. She felt as if the sun was rising from the west. This man actually picked out fish bones for her.
Nevertheless, the meat was in front of her. How could she not eat it? “Thanks then.” She picked up the fish and ate it.
Xiao Jin saw that she had eaten to her heart’s content and lowered his eyes to hide a smile.
In the eyes of Auntie Wang’s family, their interactions were those of a loving couple.
After the meal, Auntie Wang asked Zhang Shan to clean up his room so that Su Ying and Xiao Jin could sleep there for the night.
“Young lady, walking in the wilderness at night is not easy. It would be best if you rest here for the night. Tomorrow they will go to town to sell wild boar and take you along. If you can’t find your family, go to the county government and report yourselves. The officials will help you.”
“Many thanks, Auntie.”
Auntie Wang smiled and shook her head. “My husband passed away from illnesses over ten years ago. I had a hard time with my four children. I only managed to survive until today because of the help of kind people. I’ll get you some clothes. You can wash up and have a nice sleep.”
“Alright.”
Auntie Wang found a set of her old clothes for Su Ying and gave Xiao Jin his second son’s clothes. Although his second son’s figure was already the largest among the brothers, his clothes still looked small on Xiao Jin.
After Auntie Wang left the room, Su Ying took the clothes and looked at Xiao Jin. “Shall we wash together?”
The corners of Xiao Jin’s eyes twitched. He was a man, and he wasn’t her real husband. How could she say something like that without changing color?
“No need.”
“Fine. I’ll go then.” She was thinking of helping him as it would be inconvenient for him to wash his hair, but since he didn’t want it, she didn’t mind.
Xiao Jin went to the bathroom with Zhang Shan’s help after Su Ying was done.
Su Ying sat outside the room and enjoyed the night breeze. She thought about how her two children and Mama Zhao could be. Although Jiang Yang practiced martial arts, she didn’t know he was reliable enough to protect them.
“Why aren’t you sleeping?”
Su Ying turned around and was stunned when she saw Xiao Jin’s handsome face under the moonlight.
The short shirt in gray cloth seemed a little small on him. The sleeves were far away from his elbows, and the trouser legs only reached his calves. She had known before that he was tall, and now it was even more apparent.
After the bath, his long black hair fell freely in front of him, making his entire face look much softer and highlighting his delicate facial features.
Su Ying had to admit that this man was very good-looking.
“I was waiting for you.”
Zhang Shan helped Xiao Jin into the room and sat down. He couldn’t help but tease: “Brother Xiao, you have an excellent relationship with your wife.”
Su Ying happened to hear this when she entered the room. Would she say that Xiao Jin wanted to swallow her alive before?
“You guys have a good rest. I’m going to sleep too.”
“Thank you for your trouble.”
Zhang Shan left the room and closed the door behind him.
The furnishings in the room were simple. There was only one table, two chairs, and a bamboo couch. The bamboo couch was not big and would be a little crowded if two people lay flat on it.
Su Ying touched her hair, which was almost dry and collapsed on the bamboo couch. “I’m going to sleep. You suit yourself.”
Xiao Jin watched as she moved her body inside the bamboo couch as much as possible and knew she was planning to leave space for him.
Xiao Jin didn’t sleep on the bamboo couch. Instead, he sat on a chair and closed his eyes to rest.
Su Ying woke up to the sound of a rooster crowing. She opened her eyes and saw Xiao Jin sitting on the chair.
Su Ying stood up and thought he was pretentious. She opened the door and walked out without him.
Auntie Wang and the others had woken up long ago. They smiled when they saw Su Ying. “Young lady, you are awake. Go to the backyard and wash up. There is bread in the kitchen. After you eat, get ready to leave with Zhang Shan and the others.”
“Sure. ”
Su Ying went to the backyard and washed her hands with the water from a well. She then went to the kitchen and found a few brown rice pancakes, probably left for them.
Su Ying carried a basin of water and the pancakes back into the room.
“Wash up, eat and get ready to leave.”
“OK.”